


Make a Wish

by flapdoodle_noodle



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26459809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flapdoodle_noodle/pseuds/flapdoodle_noodle
Summary: In a world of soulmates, Marinette and Jason grow up knowing they will never have one.At least, that's what they think.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jason Todd
Comments: 15
Kudos: 151





	1. The Beginning

Marinette grew up surrounded by love.

Her Maman and Papa worked seamlessly in the kitchen, already knowing what the other needed through their mental connection. 

Alya’s hand occasionally brushing Nino’s, creating tiny sparks between them as they touched. 

Luka tracing the snake tattoo on Adrien’s shoulder as the blonde poked at the cat on the former’s neck. 

Chloe smiling softly as she read the sweet message Kagami wrote on the inside of her wrist. 

She was surrounded by so many forms of love, of _soulmates._

She mourned the fact that she didn’t have a someone she could call her own, someone she could grow to love. 

*

Jason grew up surrounded by suffering

Homeless people on the streets, begging for money. 

Children resorting to pick-pocketing and stealing, doing whatever it took to survive in a harsh world. 

His own family, torn apart after his father left and his mother grew addicted to drugs. She died a few months in from overdose, leaving Jason by himself (though he was already used to that).

He remembers seeing couples happily moving through the safer parts of Gotham, some tied together by red strings of fate, others glowing as they touched. 

He wondered if there was someone out their for him, someone who could take away all his suffering. 

*

Fate twisted as the two children wished, with all their heart, for another that could complete them. It curled around the pair, and formed a soulmate bond unlike any other. 

*-*-*

_Paris, France._

_Five years ago (Age: Ten)_

“Ha! Poor Dupain-Cheng, all alone! She doesn’t have a soulmate!” A young Chloe Bourgeois taunted, their 6e (sixth grade) class falling silent at her words.

“Stop it, Chloe!” Marinette growled. “That’s not a nice thing to say!”

“Well, it’s true!” Chloe sneered as she flipped her ponytail. “I have a soulmate!” She held up her wrist, displaying the scarlet red words decorating her skin. “Sabrina has a soulmate!” The girl in question took off her glasses, revealing one green and one brown eye. “Everyone here has a soulmate- everyone but _you!”_

And it _was_ true. Soulmate bonds began appearing around the age of ten, and everyone in their class had already formed their bond except Marinette, the youngest in their class due to her skipping a grade. But even after turning ten a few weeks prior, she received no sign she had a soulmate. 

Marinette turned to her classmates, eyes pleading for help. But they averted their gazes, not wanting to risk the wrath of the mayor’s daughter. She was left to fend for herself as Chloe ripped into her. 

After school ended, she returned to the bakery, running up to her Papa as soon as she saw him. She hugged his leg, trying to hold back her tears. He bent down to meet her eyes, looking concerned as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” 

“Why don’t I have a soulmate, Papa? Did I do something wrong?” She sniffled, rubbing her eyes. Dad’s eyes widened in realization, leading her out of the bakery and into the living room. 

“Did someone make fun of you for not having a soulmate?” he questioned her.

The girl nodded. “Chloe told everyone I didn’t have one,” she pouted. “She said I was ‘all alone!’” Her father’s look of anger subsided into a sad look

“Marinette,” he began slowly. The pigtailed girl looked up at him. “Just because you don’t have a soulmate, doesn’t mean you’re alone. You’ve got me, your Maman, your Grand-mere and Grand-pere,” he gestured around their home to the various photos they had taken with their relatives, “you have your passions,” he pointed to the hand-drawn pictures on the fridge in the kitchen, “and someday,” he tapped a finger over where her heart was, “someday, you’re going to find someone who will love you without the need for a soulmate bond.” He smiled. “Someone who will love you for _you.”_

Marinette’s eyes brought up a new wave of tears ( _happy tears_ , she realized) as she hugged her Papa tightly. 

But later that night, she burrowed under the covers of her bed, trying to shield herself from the hurtful words and the feeling of her peers’ burning stares from earlier that day. 

_I wish I had someone who would help me,_ she thought helplessly, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

Across the Atlantic in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne finally found the young boy who had tried to steal the tires from his Batmobile. Their story changed slightly when the billionaire sent his new ward to Gotham Academy, rather than the boarding school he had originally intended. 

*

_Gotham City, NJ._

_Five years ago (Age: Eleven)_

Jason couldn’t believe it. After his run-in with Batman- which he was still grumpy about, by the way- he had been taken in by _Bruce Wayne,_ Gotham’s own billionaire playboy. Oh, and he was also going to _school_ for the first time ever. 

Of course, this did mean he had to put up with the entitled, snobby rich kids who ran around thinking they owned the place (along with whoever went there). Yup, that was going to be a problem, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He was broken out of his thoughts when someone pushed him out of his seat, sending him to the ground roughly. 

“Well, if it isn’t Bruce Wayne’s newest charity case. Tell me, how does it feel to actually have a roof over your head?” Bully A (he didn’t know the kid’s name) jeered. His lackeys stood behind him, chuckling as their leader put the new, defenseless kid in his place. 

“It’s pretty cool, actually,” Jason smirked. “It’s probably a _whole_ lot bigger than whatever roof you live under, huh?” He watched as the bully’s face went purple with rage, his buddies going silent as they took in his expression. 

“You think you’re so smart, huh?!” The rich brat hissed as he tackled Jason to the ground. _Pretty good tackle,_ Jason appraised him. _But not enough to take_ me _down._ He punched the boy on top of him in the face, knocking off him and back onto the pavement. 

As they both got up, a whistle blew from across the courtyard. Turning to face the noise, they were greeted by the sight of their gym teacher stomping up to them, a glint of anger in her eyes. “ _What,”_ she growled, “ _is going on here?”_

Jason internally cursed himself. _I’m_ so _screwed._

Alfred drove up to the academy after the office supposedly talked to Bruce. As he got in the car, the butler’s gaze shifted to meet his eyes in the rear-view mirror. “Master Bruce wishes to speak with you once we return to the manor.” 

“Mmkay,” Jason muttered. He kept his face to the tinted window for the rest drive. 

Bruce was in his study when Jason walked in. The older man waved his hand. signalling for the younger to come closer to his desk. “I heard you got in a fight,” he stated. 

Jason huffed. “I didn’t start it, if that’s what you’re worried about. Not this time.”

“But you fought back,” Bruce raised an eyebrow. Jason hummed in agreement. 

It was silent as the billionaire sat there, contemplating something. Jason rocked on his heels, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When Bruce suddenly got up, walking to the grandfather clock in the room, adjusting the time, the boy was confused. Even more so when a secret door opened up from behind it. 

He trailed behind Bruce as they walked through the passageway and into what seemed to be… a cave? There was tech everywhere, with different suits and gadgets in every corner. His eyes widened when he saw a suit that looked suspiciously like Batman’s. _No way…_ he turned to the mysterious man before him, who smirked at his flabbergasted expression.

“How do you feel about vigilantism?”

No. Way. 

“Are you- are you _kidding me???”_ he waved his arms at the whole setup. “You’re Batman. When were you going to tell me about that???” 

“If you want to do this, you’re going to have to train first.” Jason noticed the deflection, but he ignored it upon seeing the intense seriousness in the other man’s eyes. 

“Alright,” Jason squared his shoulders, shifting his gaze up at the man who had taken him in, who was now giving him a chance to prove himself. “I’m in.” 

An uncharacteristic small grin settled on Bruce Wayne’s face. “Good.”

Six months later, now twelve, he donned his Robin suit, ready to go out for _real_. Seeing Batman in action, as his sidekick, gave him a rush of excitement. 

_I wish_ I _could be as good a hero as the Bat,_ he thought as they fought their way through a horde of Riddler’s goons. _I wish I could protect my city like he does._

Fate heard his wish, and began re-writing the destiny of a certain normal girl in Paris, whose life would take an unexpected turn.


	2. Chapter 2

_Paris, France._

_Two years ago (Age: 13)_

Marinette doodled absently as she waited for the teacher to arrive. “The first day of school is always so boring,” she complained aloud.

“Nette, I love you, but please shut up. I’m focusing right now,” Chloe shushed her best friend, not looking up from the other girl’s nails as she applied the last coat of nail polish to her pinkie.

She sighed, taking her time to assess Chloe. The blonde had really changed in the couple years they had been friends. The week after she had teased Marinette for her lack of a soulmate, her mother had gone on to expand her fashion empire in New York, leaving her and her father behind. The fight between her parents had cemented the fact that not all soulbonds worked out in the end, and she apologized to Marinette shortly after her discovery.

It still took a while for them to trust one another, but they eventually built a strong enough friendship where they would joke about having a mental connection.

“Soooooo, how’s the soulmate?” Chloe flushed slightly and turned to Marinette, jaw clenched.

“Not so loud! I don’t want the other _idiots_ to come over here and ask me how she’s doing, they’re so annoying!” She hissed. “Kags just enrolled in a fencing camp in the States, she’ll be joining us halfway through the school year.” She couldn’t hide her excitement at the fact that she would finally meet her feisty soulmate in person.

Marinette smiled widely, sweeping the other girl into a side-hug. “I’m so excited for you!” she squealed as an ombre-haired girl and a blonde guy walked into the room.

“Is this Ms. Bustier’s class? We’re both new to the school, so we’re not sure where all the classes are,” the girl questioned. In the front row, Nino got up to answer.

“Yeah, you’re in the right place. Ms. Bustier isn’t here yet.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Nino, and you guys look like you need a friend.”

The blonde gave him a small smile as he shook the offered hand. “I’m Adrien.”

“Adrien!! Hey!” Chloe waved her arms furiously over her head, catching the attention of her childhood friend. “I haven’t seen you since Mom left,” she whispered softly. Adrien gave her a sad look as he hugged her.

“Yeah, Dad stopped going out as much after his only friend left. And Mom dying didn’t help at all,” he replied back. Their hug was cut short as they heard twin yelps of pain at the front of the room. Turning towards the sound, everyone was shocked to see Alya and Nino be thrown in opposite directions, a brilliant display of orange and green sparks just disappearing from view. Marinette looked on wistfully as the two got up. 

“So,” Alya gulped, “I guess we’re soulmates.”

The group burst into a collection of cheers as the newly-announced soulmates gave each other a tentative side-hug. Though the moment was interrupted as Ms. Bustier walked into the room, clapping her hands to grab their attention. 

“Congratulations, Alya, Nino, but I’m afraid we have to start class now. She smiled apologetically as everyone moved to their seats. “Now, why don’t we begin with a welcoming assignment?”

*

Soulmates. The assignment was to write about their soulmate, _which she didn’t have_. 

Marinette groaned internally as she hit her head in her desk (lightly, as not to disturb anyone who was actually working). Chloe patted her shoulder sympathetically as she wrote. 

“What am I supposed to do if I don’t have a soulmate?” Marinette. Chloe scoffed, looking up from her paper. 

“Figure it out, Nette. I’m not going to be around forever to help you with your shit.” The blunette gave her a mocking grin. 

“Well, I’m not the one who came to came to her best friend yesterday, freaking out about how hot her soulmate was~” she taunted. 

Chloe burst into a deep red. Holding her head in her hands, she groaned, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, do _not_ do this to me, or I swear-”

“Kim!!” Ivan leapt up out of his seat, fists clenched tight. He made his way over to the asian boy’s desk, pulling him up out of his seat. “Square up _right now,_ you little pu-”

“Ivan! What on earth is going on?!” Ms. Bustier walked up to the irate boy, who dropped Kim upon hearing his name. 

“Ms. Bustier! Kim, he-”

“I don’t want to hear it! There’s no excuse for trying to physically hurt him. He won’t learn anything. Ivan, please stand outside, I’ll come talk to you in a minute.”

Gritting his teeth, Ivan stormed out of the room, paper crumpled in his hand. Kim sat back down in his chair, crossing his arms smugly. 

“Not so fast, Kim. I’ll be having words with you once I talk to Ivan,” she warned. “I’m sorry for the interruption, class, please get back to your work-”

“KIM!!” A giant stone behemoth burst into the room, swinging its arms wildly. “Come back and fight me like a man!!”

“Oh shit!” The jock sprinted out of the room, bringing the monster out with him. Everyone else was left frozen in their seats. until the teacher spoke up.

“Children, I think you should all go home… you need to stay safe, and that thing might come back,” she let her class gather their things before herding them out the door. “I’m going to call the police, tell them they need to keep a look out for Kim…”

*

“Was that Ivan?” Chloe hissed as they made their way to the bakery. They were waiting to cross the street when an old man fell in the middle of the road in front of them, right in the path of a speeding car. Marinette surprised herself as her feet burst into action, pushing the old man out of the way before he could get hit.

“Are you okay, sir?!” she looked over the person worriedly, trying to find any injuries. But he stood up, stretching as if he hadn’t almost died earlier. 

“Thank you for your help, Marinette,” he smiled as he walked away. She pushed herself off the ground, staring after him dazedly. Remembering Chloe was with her, she spun around to find her berating the driver who had nearly run her over.

“Go back to driving school, maybe they’ll be able to cure you of your inability to drive!” she screeched, flipping the woman off. Running over to her friend, she punched her in the shoulder, and gave her a crushing hug. “And you! You need to be put on a leash if you’re going to run off like that! You could’ve been killed!”

“Sorry, Chloe, but someone had to help him! I couldn’t stand there and do nothing!” she defended herself as they walked into the shop. They were met by Jean and her parents conversing over the counter. 

“Miss Chloe,” he addressed the girl, coming over and holding the door open. “Come with me, you’ll be brought to the hotel and will stay there until the situation is dealt with. Your father’s orders.” 

“Ugh, fine. Later, Nette. I’ll text you when I can,” she offered a small smile before following her butler out. 

Marinette waved after her friend. “I’ll be up in my room,” she told her parents, pecking them both on the cheeks as she passed them. 

Tuning her computer in to the news station, she watched as the stone monster raged, throwing both cars and people around. “WHERE IS KIM?!” it bellowed, taking out a van that was probably full of policemen. Averting her gaze, her eyes fell upon a small box on her desk. “What is this doing here?” She opened the beautifully carved box, seeing a pair of spotted earrings as a bright pink light blinded her. 

“Hello!” something squeaked at her. “I’m Tikki, kwami of creation! It’s nice to meet you,” a red thing smiled sweetly. She blinked in surprise, before throwing her chair at it. 

“What are you? A bug? A mouse? A bug-mouse?” she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

“A kwami, silly! And I’m here to help you defeat that horrible akuma!” 

“I- you know what, fine,” she gave up trying to make sense of what was happening. “Tikki, I’m Marinette.” she respectfully bowed her head, bringing her eyes up to meet the piercing blue of the kwami in front of her. “Please, teach me what I need to do so more people don’t get hurt by this… akuma?”

Tikki’s eyes sparkled with pride. “Of course, Marinette! But we’ll need to do this quickly.”

*

As she made her way around the city, she was reminded of the vigilantes she had seen in Gotham on her and Chloe’s brief school trip to America a year ago. Thankfully, their class hadn’t actually stopped there, as that would’ve ended up in disaster, but the traffic in the city held them up long enough for her to catch a glimpse of the city’s heroes zipping between buildings. 

Curiously enough, she had taken to her yo-yo like a fish to water, comfortably swinging through the air as if she had been doing it for years. 

Almost as if someone’s muscle-memory was working for her. 

She was broken out of her thoughts by a guy in what looked like a black fursuit on the rooftops, waving his arms around frantically. She jumped down next to him. 

“You must be my partner,” he held out a hand. “I’m Chat Noir, power of destruction. You are?”

She paused, having forgotten to name herself. “Ladybug,” she shook his hand. “Power of creation.” She was about to say more when a loud explosion sounded on their right, near the Eiffel Tower. She nodded to her partner, and they were off, ready to take down the akuma. 

Arriving at the Eiffel Tower, she and Chat Noir touched down in front of the police vehicles, walking up to Mayor Bourgeouis. “What’s he doing?” she questioned him. The Mayor’s head snapped to them, regarding them suspiciously. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?” he demanded. 

“I’m Chat Noir, and this is Ladybug,” the owner of the black cat miraculous spoke up. “And we’re here to stop him,” he pointed to the stone giant, who was holding two people in his arms. 

“I am Stoneheart, and I’ll drop this guy if you don’t back away!” He held Kim by his wrist, dangling him over the tower’s edge. 

“You’ll be imprisoned for this! Unhand him immediately!” the mayor yelled through his megaphone. Ladybug snatched it out of his hands. 

“Don’t antagonize him!” she hissed. A scream broke out above them as Kim came flying to the ground. She dove forward, catching him just in time. Chat Noir rushed to her side. 

“He’s still got one more person captive,” he noted. “And it doesn’t look like they’re getting down anytime soon. What should we do?”

“The only thing we _can_ do right now. Lucky Ch-” she stopped upon seeing a swarm of moths come out of Stoneheart’s mouth, forming a face midair. 

“Citizens of Paris, I am Hawkmoth,” the face spoke. “And I will not stop until Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculouses are in my posession! Surrender now before all of Paris feels my wrath!”

The two superheroes clapped slowly. “Are you done?” Cat Noir picked at his immaculate nails. “Because right now, all I’m hearing is someone try to play supervillain and threaten to terrorize their own city.”

“Nice try, Hawkmoth,” Ladybug yelled up at the man’s face. “But Paris is stronger than you’d think. We’ll find you, no matter how long it takes.” She and Cat Noir rushed into action, destroying and purifying the swarm. Watching closely as Stoneheart kept climbing up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, she nudged her partner. “Follow me.”

Calling upon her Lucky Charm, she ended up with a parachute, scanning her surroundings. Pulling the straps over her shoulders, she yelled to Chat Noir, “Watch for the akumatized object!” as she tugged the girl up to kiss Stoneheart’s face. Flustered by the affection, he let go of the girl and the paper. Chat grabbed Mylene, hitting the paper back up to her. “Batter up, milady!”

Rolling her eyes, she broke it, about to purify the akuma when she noticed the monster turn back into Ivan, who fell freely from the tower. Diving to grab him, she caught the akuma in her yo-yo before pulling the parachute open. Once they touched the ground, she opened her weapon, hundreds of moths shooting out of their temporary prison. 

“Miraculous Ladybug! she shouted as she threw the parachute up into the air. A gigantic swarm of butterflies flew around the city, fixing all the damage that Stoneheart had done. She shared a grin with Chat as they fist-bumped. “Pound it!” 

They took one look at the press before bolting to the nearest building. “We’re Ladybug and Chat Noir,” she yelled down to them. “And we’ll be here to protect you.” With that, they disappeared over the rooftops. 

“So… see you later?” the black cat hero asked innocently before they parted ways. She chuckled gently, throwing her yo-yo out. 

“Yeah. Until next time.”

*

Landing with a soft _thump_ in her room, she detransformed. She reached into her bag and offered a handful of chocolate chip cookies to her exhausted kwami. 

“You were amazing, Marinette,” Tikki reassured her. “It’s almost as if you’ve done this before! You haven’t, have you? It would be extremely dangerous for you to do this without proper protection, let alone without a miraculous!” 

“Tikki, it’s alright!” she giggled at the small god’s antics. “You don’t need to worry, I’ve never done anything like this until now.” 

“Maybe it’s your soulmate!” the kwami perked up. “There are quite a few people with bonds like this, it wouldn’t be too far off.”

“I don’t have a soulmate, Tikki,” Marinette told her earnestly. “I never gained a bond- or even a sign that I had one to begin with.”

The goddess of creation regarded her holder as if she was looking straight into her soul. She kept searching for something in her, until she turned away a few minutes later. 

“I’m sorry I brought it up, Marinette,” she hugged her cheek. “But I do mean what I said earlier, you’re a natural!” 

The teen giggled again as she cupped the kwami in her palm. “Thanks, Tikki.” 

The day’s events catching up to her, she climbed up to her bed and sunk under the covers, allowing that sleepy feeling to take over. She was out in seconds. 

The same could not be said for a certain kwami, who was still watching over the teen with curious eyes. 

“You’re strong, Marinette,” she whispered, floating up to rest on the stuffed animal above the teen’s head. “But you’ll be even stronger when you meet your soulmate.” Her features shifted as she adopted a solemn look. “Though I’m worried about your soulmate bond. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before,” she mused, before falling asleep. 

*

_Paris, France._

_One year ago (Age: 14)_

The past year had not been kind to Marinette. 

School wasn’t the greatest. She and Lila Rossi, a Grade-A liar who transferred from Italy almost a year ago, didn’t see eye-to-eye. And apparently to Lila, that meant they were practically arch-nemeses. Which was fucking dumb, but she honestly didn’t care. She normally just stayed out of the way instead of trying to expose the Italian’s lies, which had become less extreme and more believable over time. The class was still unaware of her fibs, both old and new, though they weren’t exactly a brainless mob. The buzz around Lila slowly receded, though the girl’s more trusted “friends” were still blown away by anything she did. 

At least she had her friends to back her up. Chloe, Adrien, Kagami, Nino, Luka (and a few others)… they were always there for her. 

Except, they couldn’t help her with her many problems as Ladybug.

Fu’s renouncement of Guardian of the Miraculous was one of them. She had been dumped with the responsibility of not only upholding her new title as Guardian, but also keeping both her own and the _rest of the jewels_ safe. 

And if that weren’t enough already, Hawkmoth had become a relentless force. Akumatizations happened almost two, sometimes even three times a day. And not only were they more frequent, but they were also getting stronger. She and Chat considered themselves lucky to deal with akumas that had been as tough as Miracle Queen from the first year they had become heroes. 

That meant fights were longer, which also meant they were exhausted by the time the fight was finally over. Less time plus exhaustion was a wonderful recipe for what?

Definitely not a healthy sleep schedule. She counted an hour as a good night’s sleep. She couldn’t take any risks by spending less time on her fashion projects or schoolwork, or that would tip her parents off (that, and she was still looking out for her future. How was she supposed to become a fashion icon if she didn’t even have good grades?).

So yes, Marinette’s life was pretty shitty right now. But the worst part was that she had to keep it all bottled up. Like she said, she couldn’t take any risks, especially not ones that could end up as devastating as being akumatized. 

She felt like she was going to burst. There were cracks already forming in her emotional dam, and she knew that the people closest to her could already see them. She could tell from their lingering eyes, and their saddened looks when they thought she didn’t notice. 

But she did. And she wanted them to stop worrying. 

So now she was here, deciding whether or not she should tell her best friend about her secret identity.

“Damn- dang it, Tikki! What should I do?!” She implored her kwami to give her advice. But Tikki only gave her a pat on the shoulder. 

“You should do what you think is right, Marinette,” she encouraged her. “I’ll stand by whatever you do.”

 _That’s the thing,_ she cried internally. _I don’t know what_ is _right._

Later on, she’d probably tell herself that she was _too good_ of a hero. Too good to give herself a break. Too good to burden her _best friend_ with her emotions. No, her city came first. It was her home, and she wouldn’t let them down, not if she could do anything about it.

One day she’d realize that she can’t solve all her problems by herself. One day she’d realize that all she needed to do was let someone in.

But for now, she’d wish for some sort of sign, maybe from above, maybe from a fortune cookie. Anything that might help her make up her mind. 

As the two choices warred in her head, a certain boy wonder concluded that, since he couldn’t depend on anyone but himself, he would go after his mother on his own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dramatic narrator voice*: what will they do next?

**Author's Note:**

> *I am taking liberties with the timelines so they make sense in this au… most of the life-changing things that happen to them still occur, but I’ve rearranged when/how they may have actually happened... so don’t @ me for “incorrect” events pls. Thank you!


End file.
